Hypothetical
by BroomballKraken
Summary: Raphael has a question for Ignatz. A completely hypothetical question.


Hello yes, I think I've managed to yeet myself into yet another circle of rare pair hell, RIP me. Anyway, I love these two soft boys (especially Raphael) and I think they'd be extremely cute together.

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It was a clear spring day at Garreg Mach Monastery, and Ignatz was taking advantage of the nice weather to relax and get some painting done. Dipping his brush into a teal-colored paint, he began to capture his surroundings on the blank canvas in front of him. He was outside the walls of the monastery, due to the fact that there were few things out here that could distract him from his project. The other students got rather rowdy on weekends, but Ignatz couldn't blame them. He just preferred the quiet.

Frowning, Ignatz used his free hand to adjust his glasses, and he sighed as he leaned back against the tree he was sitting under. Even though he had escaped to the seclusion of the woods, he still found that his mind was wandering. His thoughts were filled with messy blond hair, dazzling honey-colored eyes, a smile so bright that it could blind, and taut muscles that far exceeded the size of a normal 18 year old's. Ignatz had realized only a short time ago that he had fallen for his best friend, and he had fallen _hard_.

Ignatz had known Raphael since childhood, as both of their parents were merchants and often worked together. When Raphael's parents perished after taking the place of his own parents on a job, Ignatz had felt incredibly guilty about it for a long, long time. When he had finally enrolled in the academy and found out that Raphael would be in the same class as him, Ignatz felt a weird mixture of happiness and anxiety. What if Raphael hated him because his parents were dead and Ignatz's were not, when it really should have been the other way around?

Unfortunately, Ignatz had been so fixated on his guilt, that for the first few weeks of school, he could not bring himself to have a normal conversation with Raphael. He always had an excuse to leave whenever Raphael approached him, and it always killed him inside, because Ignatz really did enjoy being friends with him. His presence probably dredged up bad memories for Raphael, so Ignatz knew that it was best to avoid talking to him.

It was shocking then, when Raphael finally cornered Ignatz one day and demanded to know what he was avoiding him. Ignatz finally revealed his inner turmoil, and, in true Raphael fashion, he had brushed it off with a smile. He reminded Ignatz that his parent's deaths were an accident, and he just wanted his best friend back. Ignatz agreed, and was finally able to put his guilty feelings behind him. And so began his descent into infatuation.

Ignatz liked a lot of things about Raphael. He was so friendly to everyone that he met, and was always willing to help people out with their problems (even though most of his suggestions had something to do with eating more meat, but he always meant well). He was dedicated to his training so that he could eventually become a knight, but sometimes he had a tendency to overwork himself. He did struggle with the academic portion of his studies, but Ignatz was always willing to help out with his studying. His bright outlook on life was refreshing during times like this when tensions were running high between the three nations. All of these qualities, along with the fact that Ignatz thought he was very handsome as well, made him want to try and pursue a deeper relationship with Raphael. However, he didn't exactly know how to actually go about doing that...

"Hey, Ignatz!"

Ignatz was pulled from his thoughts when the booming voice hit his ears, and he looked up to see Raphael towering over him, hands placed on his hips and his signature dazzling smile on his face. Ignatz felt his cheeks heat up, and the all too familiar feeling of butterflies taking flight in his stomach returned in full force.

"Oh, hello Raphael. How did you find me?" Ignatz asked, and his heart fluttered when Raphael laughed heartily.

"Well, you've mentioned before that you like to paint outside of the monastery, so when I couldn't find you, I figured I'd check around here."

"Ah, right. Did you need something?"

"Nah, I just wanted to see you." Raphael's hands moved to rest on the back of his head, "Er, do you mind if I sit and watch you paint? I can leave if you think I'll be too distracting."

"Oh, not at all." Ignatz said. It was a lie; Raphael had been on his mind and distracting him all day, but having him here wouldn't make it any worse than it already was. Raphael's eyes brightened as he sat down next to Ignatz, and a comfortable silence fell between them as he continued his painting.

The silence soon became uncomfortable, however, because Ignatz realized that something was off with his best friend. He stole a glance at Raphael, and saw that he was frowning as he stared at the ground, his arms crossed over his chest and his hands were fiddling with his sleeves. He seemed...nervous about something. How unlike him.

"Raphael?" Ignatz asked as he set down his paintbrush, "Are you alright? You look like something is bothering you."

"Er, well…" Raphael started, gulping as he slowly lifted his head to lock his eyes with Ignatz's. "I just...wanted to, uh, ask you something."

"Oh?" Ignatz said, raising a curious eyebrow. He patiently waited for Raphael to continue, and Ignatz was confused when a dusting of pink appeared on his friend's cheeks.

"I was just wondering, uh, I mean, well…" Raphael muttered, rubbing his neck as he averted his gaze, "H-Hypothetically speaking...w-what would you say if I told you that I was, er, i-interested in you?"

Ignatz just stared blankly at Raphael as he tried to process what he was saying. He was a bit distracted by how weird Raphael was acting; he was normally not one to stutter and trip over his words like this.

He then realized exactly what he had been asked, and he felt his face heat up considerably and his eyes went wide. Did Raphael just...admit he was interested in him? _Romantically_? Ignatz opened his mouth to speak, but ended up snapping it shut before he could say anything. Raphael did say it was a hypothetical question, but why would he be asking that in the first place if he wasn't asking in earnest? It wasn't like him at all.

"U-Uh…" Ignatz finally managed to squeak out. Raphael tensed as he looked back at him, and the puppy dog eyes he was making at him made Ignatz's heart melt. Well, if they were technically speaking hypothetically, he might as well be honest with Raphael. That way, he could gauge his reactions and see if he actually did feel the same way.

"Well...I would - hypothetically speaking, of course - a-actually be really happy if you told me that. A-And I would say that I was also interested in you." Ignatz continued, his heart hammering hard in his chest as he waited for Raphael's response. He was silent for a moment, until a huge smile spread across his face, and the beauty of it took Ignatz's breath away.

"R-Really, you mean it?" Raphael asked as he reached over and took Ignatz's hands in his. He smiled shyly back, and decided that this reaction was a good thing, so he nodded and squeezed Raphael's hands.

"Yeah. I'd probably also, hypothetically, do this." Ignatz said, and before Raphael could say anything, he leaned up and placed a quick kiss on Raphael's cheek. Raphael made a startled noise in the back of his throat, and Ignatz couldn't help but laugh when he pulled away and saw that Raphael's face had turned as red as a tomato.

"Y-You…" Raphael stuttered, taking a few short breaths to compose himself, "T-That really wasn't hypothetical, was it? Because honestly, I lied about my question being hypothetical."

"No, Raphael. I meant every word." Ignatz said, shaking his head. Raphael suddenly let out an excited whoop and wrapped his arms around him, startling Ignatz as he pulled him onto his lap. His paint brushes were knocked over in the process, but luckily none of his paint spilled onto his canvas.

"Oh, Ignatz, that's awesome!" Raphael said, "I'm glad I managed to finally tell you! I've had a crush on you for a while now."

"Raphael…"

"I just think you're so cool, and nice, and talented. You're art is really inspiring, and you always go out of your way to help me with studying. And, ah, you're really cute too." Raphael gushed, and Ignatz rubbed at his neck, embarrassed.

"Oh, well, thanks." he said bashfully, smiling brightly as his green eyes met Raphael's golden ones. "I've...liked you for a long time too. For a lot of reasons."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Raphael said, pumping a fist into the air, and Ignatz laughed, "So, will you be my boyfriend, Ignatz?"

"Yeah, I'd really like that, Raphael." he said, and he grunted as Raphael pulled him into a tight bear hug.

"Ah, I'm so happy!" Raphael said when he pulled away. He then averted his gaze bashfully. "C-Can I, ah, kiss you?" Ignatz's face flushed as he became flustered, but he managed to recover quickly as he placed his hands on Raphael's shoulders.

"Of course you can."

Raphael grinned as he leaned down, and Ignatz tilted his head up to meet him as their lips came together in a light kiss. Their first kiss. Ignatz's heart swelled at the thought, and he had never felt a happiness quite like this before. It was the perfect moment, and he wished that it could last forever…

"Hey you two, it's about time!"

Ignatz propelled himself backwards off of Raphael's lap when the voice startled him, and he landed on his back in the grass. He quickly sat up, his face burning, to find Claude leaning against a tree with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"C-Claude!" Ignatz said, his eyes widening as his jaw dropped. He had just been caught kissing Raphael by his house leader of all people. How incredibly embarrassing.

"Er, hey Claude." Raphael said, laughing sheepishly as he got to his feet. He turned and offered his hand to Ignatz, and he took it and was lifted from the ground with ease.

"So you guys are officially a couple now, right? We were all wondering when it was gonna happen. Congrats." Claude said, crossing his arms over his chest as he raised an eyebrow.

"Ha, well, thanks." Raphael said, running a hand through his hair as he averted his gaze. His eyes met Ignatz's, and they both smiled fondly at each other.

"As much as I'd like to tease you guys some more, I'm afraid that Teach wants to see us all. We need to go over some tactics for the next mission." Claude said. He pushed off of the tree he was leaning on and started heading in the direction of the monastery.

"Ah, right." Ignatz said, and he quickly gathered his painting supplies. Raphael nodded and they both moved to follow their house leader. Ignatz's eyes widened when Raphael suddenly grabbed his free hand, and he smiled up at him as their fingers entwined together. They fit together like pieces to a puzzle, and Ignatz was grateful that their feelings for each other were anything but hypothetical.

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I'm writing this somewhere where I don't have access to the supports for these two, so if any of the info about their pasts and stuff is wrong, that's why lmao Thanks for reading!


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